Inmate Rights in Montana

Montana's prison rights landscape is shaped by two features that stand out across this series. First, Montana's mail system changed significantly in May 2024: all personal mail for Montana Department of Corrections facilities is now digitally delivered via tablet, with physical personal mail sent to the facility returned to sender. Second, Montana is one of a relatively small number of states where voting rights are restored immediately upon release from prison, even for people who are then on parole or probation.

The Montana Department of Corrections, known as the Montana DOC, operates Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge as its main adult facility. Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby is operated by CoreCivic, a private prison company, under contract with the DOC. Dawson County Correctional Facility is a separate facility. Montana State Prison houses approximately 80 percent of the state's incarcerated population and has been the subject of significant ACLU litigation over mental health care, including an active federal case over the treatment of people with serious mental illness and a 2022 settlement that prohibited placing inmates with severe mental illnesses in solitary confinement.

This guide covers rights inside Montana state prisons and county and local jails across ten domains, grounded in Montana DOC policy, Montana statute, and the current legal landscape.

Here is the short version, before we take each right apart.

Medical and mental health care are constitutionally required; Montana State Prison has been the subject of ongoing ACLU litigation and a 2022 settlement prohibiting solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness. Personal mail is now digitally delivered via tablet under a system effective May 1, 2024; legal mail, checks, and money orders still go to the facility. Each inmate at Montana State Prison receives one free phone call and one free video visit per week. In person visitation requires an online application through an Okta account and takes up to 90 days to process; at MSP Low Side, visits are limited to one per week with up to three visitors. Video visitation is available through GettingOut. Grievances follow Montana DOC policy and must be exhausted before a federal lawsuit. Disciplinary hearings carry due process protections. Solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness is prohibited under a 2022 settlement. PREA protections apply. Religious practice is protected under the First Amendment and RLUIPA. ADA accommodations were the subject of a long running settlement that required major improvements at Montana State Prison. Voting rights are restored immediately upon release from prison, including for people on parole or probation.

Medical and mental health care

Every person in a Montana state prison has a constitutional right to adequate medical and mental health care under the Eighth Amendment. The Montana DOC contracts for health care services at its facilities.

Montana State Prison has a significant history of federal litigation over the treatment of people with serious mental illness. In 2014, Disability Rights Montana and the ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit, Disability Rights Montana v. Opper, documenting a pattern at Montana State Prison of withholding medication, misdiagnosing people with a long history of mental illness, and punishing them for behavior caused by their mental illness. People with mental illness make up approximately 20 percent of Montana State Prison's population. The lawsuit found they were regularly locked in solitary confinement for months or years and then punished for behavior that was a manifestation of their illness. The case returned to district court in 2023 after appeals and remains active. If your loved one is not receiving needed medical or mental health care, submit every request in writing with a date, keep copies, and file a formal grievance. Contact the ACLU of Montana or Disability Rights Montana for systemic mental health concerns.

Mental health and the 2022 solitary confinement settlement

In March 2022, the ACLU of Montana reached a settlement with the Montana Department of Corrections in the Disability Rights Montana v. Opper case. Under the settlement, Montana State Prison will no longer place inmates with severe mental illnesses into solitary confinement. The settlement agreement also guarantees that prisoners in the prison's secure adjustment unit are entitled to specific protections.

This settlement represents a significant legal protection for people with serious mental illness in Montana State Prison. If your loved one has a serious mental illness and is being placed in isolation or denied mental health treatment at Montana State Prison, the settlement creates enforceable obligations that the ACLU of Montana monitors. Document every placement in isolation, every denial of medication or treatment, and every manifestation of illness that has been met with punishment rather than care. Contact Disability Rights Montana or the ACLU of Montana if the settlement's terms appear to be violated.

Mail: digital delivery system effective May 2024

Montana DOC changed its mail system effective May 1, 2024. All personal mail for DOC facilities, including letters, pictures, and drawings, is now digitally delivered to incarcerated people via tablet. Personal mail sent to the facility after May 1, 2024 is returned to the sender. Personal mail must now be addressed to a centralized processing address: the facility name and the inmate's name and AO number, at P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131. The full facility name and state where the facility is located must be included.

Important exceptions: personal mail for inmates at Dawson County Correctional Facility and Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby should still be mailed to those facilities directly. Legal mail, checks, money orders, and cashier's checks should still be sent to the facility where the person is incarcerated, not to the Phoenix address. Legal mail must be addressed to Mail Room Staff and include the inmate's name and AO number. Legal mail is opened only in the incarcerated person's presence to check for physical contraband and cannot be read. InmateAid can help families confirm the current mailing addresses and format requirements for the specific facility.

Phone and video contact

Every inmate at Montana State Prison receives one free phone call and one free video visit per week. This is a significant benefit relative to states where every call and video visit has a cost. Phone calls are placed through the ICS Corrections platform. Calls are monitored and recorded except for calls to attorneys. Phone rates for additional calls beyond the free weekly call are subject to the FCC's prison telephone rate caps, expanded in 2024 to cover all facilities regardless of size.

Video visitation at Montana DOC facilities transitioned to the GettingOut platform. Video visits can be conducted remotely from home or on site at the facility. Attorneys can also schedule contact visits through a separate process. InmateAid can help families navigate the GettingOut account setup and confirm current video visit availability at the specific facility. Crossroads Correctional Center and Dawson County Correctional Facility may have separate phone and video systems through their own contracted providers.

In person visitation

In person visitation at Montana DOC facilities requires prior approval through an online application process. Potential visitors must first create an Okta account and then complete a Visitor Application. The review process may take up to 90 days, though it is often less. Once approved, updates to visitor information require completing a Visitor Information Update Form. The visitation scheduling line for Montana State Prison is 406 415 6313.

At Montana State Prison's Low Side, as of April 19, 2025, visitation moved to a different location within the prison due to space restrictions. Each inmate may have only one visit per week with up to three visitors. Low Side visitation schedules rotate every four weeks to allow all units access to both morning and afternoon visits. Visits must be scheduled online on a first come, first served basis. If a visit is denied or a visitor is removed from an approved list, the incarcerated person may seek review through the DOC grievance process. Crossroads Correctional Center (CoreCivic) and Dawson County Correctional Facility have their own separate visiting procedures. Contact InmateAid for current facility specific visiting information.

The grievance process

Montana state prisons maintain an internal grievance process for incarcerated people to raise concerns about conditions and treatment. Montana DOC publishes its policies online on the DOC policies page at cor.mt.gov. The statewide classification and grievance manager role at Montana DOC reflects the importance placed on the grievance process as a systemwide function. Grievances must be exhausted through the available DOC process before filing a federal civil rights lawsuit under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.

File every grievance in writing, keep a copy, and document every response and every failure to respond within required timeframes. Crossroads Correctional Center is operated by CoreCivic under contract with the Montana DOC; people incarcerated there are subject to CoreCivic's internal grievance process, though the constitutional rights governing their treatment are the same as at state facilities. Contact the ACLU of Montana or Disability Rights Montana for systemic concerns after the internal grievance process is complete.

Disciplinary hearings

When a person in Montana state custody is accused of a disciplinary infraction, they are entitled to the minimum due process protections from Wolff v. McDonnell: advance written notice of the charge, a hearing, and a written statement of the evidence and reasons for any sanction. Montana DOC administrative policy governs the disciplinary process at its facilities.

A disciplinary conviction can affect classification, housing assignment, program eligibility, visiting access, and parole consideration before the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole. Document what happened at any disciplinary hearing, who was present, and what evidence was considered. If the hearing result appears to violate procedural requirements, file a grievance and appeal through the Montana DOC process. Under the 2022 mental health settlement, a person with severe mental illness cannot be placed in solitary confinement as a disciplinary consequence.

Solitary confinement and restrictive housing

Montana's use of solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness is governed by the 2022 ACLU settlement, which prohibits Montana State Prison from placing inmates with severe mental illnesses into the secure adjustment unit or other isolation settings. Before the settlement, the ACLU documented people with serious mental illness being held in solitary confinement for months or years and punished for behavior caused by their illness through so called behavior modification plans that deprived them of clothing, working toilets, bedding, and proper food.

For people without a severe mental illness, Montana DOC policy governs restrictive housing placements at Montana State Prison and at Crossroads Correctional Center. If your loved one is placed in restrictive housing, document the conditions, the reason given for placement, the daily time outside the cell, and whether mental health services are being provided. If your loved one has a serious mental illness, document whether the placement violates the 2022 settlement. File a grievance and contact the ACLU of Montana or Disability Rights Montana for potential settlement violations.

PREA and protection from sexual abuse

The Prison Rape Elimination Act applies in all Montana DOC facilities, including Montana State Prison and Crossroads Correctional Center, and in Montana county and local jails. Every person in custody has the right to be free from sexual abuse and sexual harassment by staff and by other incarcerated people. Montana DOC must maintain PREA policies, train staff, provide a reporting mechanism, and protect people who report from retaliation.

A 2015 audit of Crossroads Correctional Center found three allegations of sexual assault by staff members, two of which were substantiated and referred for prosecution. At all Montana DOC and contracted facilities, reports of sexual abuse or harassment can be made to facility staff, the PREA coordinator, or through external reporting options. Retaliation against someone who reports is a PREA violation and the basis of a separate complaint. Document every incident, every report made, and any change in housing or treatment that follows.

Religious practice

People incarcerated in Montana state prisons have the right to religious practice under the First Amendment and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Montana DOC must accommodate sincere religious beliefs and practices unless it can demonstrate a compelling security interest that cannot be addressed through less restrictive means. Religious programming and chaplaincy services are available at Montana DOC facilities.

In 2009, the ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit on behalf of Native American inmates at Crossroads Correctional Center regarding religious rights, reflecting the importance of protecting religious practice including Native American traditions for incarcerated people in Montana. Requests for specific religious accommodations, including dietary adjustments and access to religious items such as sacred objects, go through a formal request process at the facility. Denials can be challenged through the grievance process and, if unresolved, in federal court under RLUIPA.

ADA and disability accommodations

People with disabilities in Montana state prisons are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Montana State Prison has a long history of ADA litigation stemming from a 1991 riot. The long running case Langford v. Bullock resulted in a 2017 settlement requiring major improvements in conditions for prisoners with disabilities, including adequate access to the same facilities and programming such as vocational training, prison jobs, and education programs for people with physical and mental disabilities. The settlement was monitored by the ACLU of Montana, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, and a court appointed expert.

Requests for disability accommodations should be submitted in writing to the facility. A denial or failure to respond can be challenged through the DOC grievance process and, if unresolved, in federal court. Contact the ACLU of Montana or Disability Rights Montana for systemic disability access concerns at Montana State Prison.

Voting rights: restored upon release from prison

Montana has one of the more expansive voting rights restoration policies in the country. Under the Montana Constitution, Article IV Section 2, and Montana Code Annotated Section 13 1 111, a person convicted of a felony loses the right to vote only while serving a sentence in a penal institution. The right to vote is automatically restored upon release from incarceration. People on parole or probation in Montana may vote.

This means that a person released from Montana State Prison or another DOC facility can vote immediately, including while under parole supervision or court ordered probation. Montana uses a determinate sentencing structure, and the Board of Pardons and Parole governs parole decisions. Upon release, felons should re register to vote. The Montana Constitution provides that full civil rights are automatically restored upon termination of state supervision under Article II Section 28. This broad restoration of rights sets Montana apart from the majority of states in this series.

The bottom line for Montana

Montana's prison rights landscape is defined by the 2024 mail digitization, the 2022 mental health settlement prohibiting solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness, and one of the most expansive voting rights restoration policies in the country. Montana State Prison has been the subject of significant ACLU and Disability Rights Montana litigation going back decades, with an active federal case on mental health care still pending as of 2025.

The rights in this guide are real: adequate medical and mental health care backed by active litigation and settlement agreements, digital mail delivery via tablet, legal mail protection at the facility, one free phone call and one free video visit per week at MSP, in person visitation through the Okta online application, a grievance process that must be exhausted before federal court, due process in disciplinary hearings, a 2022 settlement prohibiting solitary for people with severe mental illness, PREA protections, religious accommodation including for Native American traditions, ADA access backed by a long running settlement, and voting rights automatically restored upon release from prison including while on parole or probation. Document everything, file every grievance, contact the ACLU of Montana and Disability Rights Montana for systemic concerns, and stay in contact through InmateAid.